The People of Iowa Will Not Let Activist Judges Redefine Marriage

www.LC.org

Des Moines, IA – The Iowa Supreme Court ruled today that the definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman violates the Iowa Constitution. In the case Varnum v. Brien, the court has unanimously agreed to allow same-sex marriage. It is now left to the people to vote on a constitutional amendment to overturn this ruling.

Liberty Counsel filed an amicus brief in this case to preserve marriage in Iowa, which has always been limited to the union between one man and one woman. Liberty Counsel’s brief argued that the fundamental constitutional right to marry includes rights and obligations that cannot be eliminated because they come from the inherent nature of marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Marriage is not simply a state-approved union of any two people who love each other.

The case involves six same-sex couples, who applied for and were denied marriage certificates by Polk County Recorder and Registrar, Timothy Brien. Brien denied their applications for marriage on the basis of Iowa’s Defense of Marriage Act. Trial court Judge Robert Hanson ruled the Iowa Defense of Marriage Act was in violation of the Iowa Constitution, concluding that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry. Brien appealed, and the Iowa Supreme Court has now affirmed that trial court ruling.

The Court writes: “If gay and lesbian people must submit to different treatment without an exceedingly persuasive justification, they are deprived of the benefits of the principle of equal protection upon which the rule of law is founded.”

Marriage laws regulate a social institution upon which society has been built and the future of society rests. Society is not obligated to recognize and bestow benefits upon any group of individuals simply because they profess to love each other. The definition of marriage, which throughout history has been defined as a union of one man and one woman, is not discriminatory. Maintaining the definition of marriage does not deprive anyone of the fundamental right to marry. Laws may properly restrict marriage of same-sex couples just as the law may forbid incestuous or polygamous marriages.

Mathew D. Staver, Founder of Liberty Counsel and Dean of Liberty University School of Law, commented: “The Iowa Supreme Court has become a proselytizing engine of radical social change. Marriage between one man and one woman is a historically shared value that transcends time and cultures. Untying the knot that holds together traditional marriage will unravel the family, destabilize the culture, and harm children. The people of Iowa will follow the lead of California and move forward to overturn this decision by a constitutional amendment.”